1685 (undated)
Description
A remarkable finely engraved 1685 map of the surface of the Sun by Johann Zahn. The view provides a dramatic image of the Sun based upon the revolutionary 1665 work of the Jesuit polymath Athanasius Kircher (1602 - 1680). The map was engraved for Zahn s important study of optics and optical devices, the
Oculus Artificialis Teledioptricus Sive Telescopium. In this view, the Sun, presented as a large wall hanging in an Italianate portico, is defined by erupting solar volcanoes, mountains, and dark smoke plumes. It is surrounded by two scientist/philosophers who discuss the mysteries of light and optics. A tablet in the lower right references letters coded to the diagram, including the solar axis, the solar equator, the northern and southern polar regions, the central equatorial region, sunspots (A), and solar prominences (puffs of smoke).